03 September, 2013

Maybe your space is smaller than you'd like, making it a challenge to include gardens and a deck. Perhaps your yard is awkwardly arranged, leaving you little room for formal outdoor areas. Or possibly you have plenty of flowerbeds but little leftover space to place an outdoor table and chairs. Whatever the reason, if you find yourself with big-deck dreams but small-deck constraints, we've got advice. To make the most of small-deck design ideas, rethink your square footage with smart ideas to make the best use of the space you have.

1. Evaluate your needs. Your lifestyle can and should play a huge part in any small-deck design ideas. Before you do anything, think about how you currently use your outdoor space and how you'd like to use it. For example, if you regularly gather family and friends for meals, then you'll want to maximize deck area for seating as well as include a spot for a grill. But if you have a large lawn for playing and relaxing, a deck might serve a whole different purpose in your daily life -- solitary reading of the paper, for example.

2. Maintain the proper scale. Before you begin sorting through small-deck designs, think about scale. Your small deck should feel as though it maintains consistent proportion to both the yard and your home. Too small or too big, and either landscape or the small deck will feel overwhelmed.

3. Establish a connection from house to deck and deck to yard.

Nothing makes a small deck look more awkward than a design that looks out of place with its surroundings. One of the keys in successful small-deck design ideas is to ensure that the style, materials, and shape feel in sync with both your home and your landscape. You'll also want to create a small-deck design that encourages an efficient, natural flow between inside and outside. For example, if doors to your kitchen lead to a side yard, that unexpected spot might be the best place for a small deck.

4. Think in levels and curves.Often times, homeowners let difficult yard situations, such as an awkward slope, discourage them from including a small deck. But decks, even in a minuscule yard or space, can be a great way to conquer those landscape demons. For example, a stepped-down small-deck design can provide multiple levels for gathering, serve for different functions, and help you get rid of grass that never grows or cover a slope that always erodes. A curved small-deck design might help you squeeze a few extra square feet (as well as a secluded nook) out of a tiny landscape.

5. Provide visual relief. On small-deck designs, there's less space to distract the eye, so the details take on heightened significance. Think overhead, on the sides, and underfoot. Try an arbor to create a cosier structure (and provide supports for flowering vines). Distinguished rails offer visual relief, as do rail planters and metal accents. A deck floor in a pattern such as basket weave or one set on a diagonal creates interest.

6. Offer storage.Just because your deck maybe small doesn't mean it shouldn't work hard. Much like shelves, hooks, and drawers in the tiniest linen closet, there are multiple ways to put your small-deck design to work. Think of built-in seating with lids that flip up to hide outdoor cushions and toys. If your small deck is elevated, try hidden storage underneath for seasonal furniture.

7. Include plantings.Whether they're in containers or between the small deck and the rest of your landscape, flowers, trees, and shrubs are key to melding deck with yard. Use small shrubs to disguise footings, posts, and corners; trees to offer shade; and flowers to connect with gardens elsewhere in the yard.

8. Finish it off. Just because your deck may be on the small size doesn't mean you should pay less attention to the final flourishes. Plan for convenient outlets. Choose complementary fabrics and furniture that enhance the design of the small deck and your outdoor living space. Do what you can to create a space that feels comfortable and welcoming. ---------------------------------------------------

So here's 8 Great Deck Ideas to help you get your deck ready for spring summer for some fabulous entertaining & relaxing over the upcoming longer warmer days.

Spend a couple of weekends getting it right & you'll enjoy it for the long run!

18 May, 2013

I've recently been looking at the Coco
Republic Design School for a few master classes & online study and found it also offers online design courses for us class and distance challenged, here's a few details of the online courses I thought I would share with you...

Have you been thinking of studying but can't commit to classes after work or juggling family life.... or maybe you live too far away be it throughout Australia, or a beloved Ex-pat throughout South East Asia, Europe or the States, to make it to Coco’s Sydney studios?

This inspirational course will give you a thorough understanding of the key
concepts and terms used by professional interior decorators, with an insight
into colour schemes, soft furnishings, window coverings, lighting and more. By
the end of the course, you’ll be able to advise customers on interior design
projects, including recommending soft furnishings and design decorations to a
project brief. Create mood, colour and materials’ boards with professional
panache and graduate with your own portfolio to entice future clients or
employers.

By the end of this course you'll have the ability to understand how to
effectively combine colour by creating colour harmonies. We'll give you the
confidence to create an interior colour palette for any project and you'll gain
a deep understanding of how colour can alter our perception of an interior space
as well as being able to 'read' the interaction of light with your colour
choices. And to top it all, you'll leave with a beautiful portfolio piece
demonstrating how well you have answered a colour consulting client brief.This course gains TAFE credit: LMFID4001A

13 May, 2013

An update from my last memo pin board 'Drab to Fab Gorgeous Office PinBoard', I needed a family memo/ pin board for our kitchen that was conducive to the colour palette of our open kitchen & living room plan.

I found 2 over sized tea towels from our local discount department & grocery store, in a similar colour to our walls with a little depth - sandy taupe and off white - the fabric - a cotton sateen French Wedgewood Ticking Stripe [this means that there is a large block stripe and smaller stripes to create a pattern - not just a regular stripe like that of a 'regular' ticking stripe'].

I sewed the tea towels together with creating an open 'French' seam.

Lining the front side of dowdy cork pin board with a layer of wadding and spray adhesive, I then used my trusty stapled gun pulling the joined tea towels tautly over the front of the board and securing each side with the staple gun.

Using a tonal & complimentary grosgrain ribbon I wove [under and over] the 'diamond' trellis ribbon. At each cross point you can then add a pearl pin or an upholstery nail head to secure the points to add your memos!

This is a super economic and chic way to update a boring old cork board. I am slightly addicted to stripes but a floral, or small chintz pattern could also work just as well. Using tea towels can be a fun way to fin different prints and patterns, more often they can be less expensive than buying by the metre, and if it's for a kitchen - like mine was - it's a little secret play-on for decorating!

10 May, 2013

To make this tree-motif string art piece, coat a piece of plywood with black interior latex paint. Sketch a tree lightly in pencil. Begin pounding 1-inch white nails into the plywood along the design at random intervals. Tie nylon cord to the lowest, left-most nail and begin looping the cord around the surrounding nails. Keep the nylon taught at all times. Work your way up the tree and extend out to each branch, ending at the top. Tie a tight knot at the top-most nail. Finish by tying 2-inch pieces of color cording to a few nails at the tips of the branches. Display in an oversize frame, or cut and miter moulding to border the plywood.

Stenciled Wall Art

A blank white wall in this dining room gets a boost of color thanks to a brightly colored stenciled canvas. To get the look, stencil an ikat pattern (or any other pattern you like) onto canvas and stretch it over 1x2-inch boards at the top and bottom.

Printable Wall Art

Recreating this small art piece is as simple with this free download. Simply download, print and frame, or use a photo transfer method to put the print on canvas or a block of wood

Keep vacation memories fresh with this easy and inexpensive wall art project. Cut a map to standard printer-paper size (8 1/2x11 inches). Use a word processor to create words, phrases, symbols, or photos that remind you of the special places you've traveled. Print your design on the map. Use spray adhesive to affix the map to a store-bought art canvas. Brush on two coats of decoupage medium, allowing the canvas to dry between applications to seal it. To give a newer map a weathered look, soak it in extra-strong coffee or black tea for an hour, then hang it up to dry.

Watercolor Flowers: This pretty project can be recreated using inexpensive watercolor.paints. Create a light wash by mixing water with one base color. Paint the entire surface of the stretched canvas with the color; let dry. To make flower stems, use a thin brush to paint a single line of light green watercolor paint. The lines need not be perfect; watercolor looks best when it’s applied organically. When the light green is almost dry, highlight it with a line of darker green; let dry. To create the flowers, place a nickel-size puddle of watercolor paint in a light tone onto the canvas at the top of one stem. Hold a straw vertically, straight over the top of the puddle. Blow into the straw to spread the paint into a sunburst pattern and let it dry. Repeat the process with a deeper, more saturated tone of the same color and let it dry again.

Hand-Drawn Wall Art

Even if your art skills are elementary, doodle on! With a marker in hand you can create one-of-a-kind wall art and unexpected updates for basic home decor in a matter of hours. Write a favorite quote, song lyric, or poem on a fabric scrap then frame, and enjoy. Draw a simple picture, then employ a blending technique to make it something truly special.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------So although the weekend might already be nearly over - this is the week that you can prepare you next weekend's projects such as these Wonderful Wall Art projects that I have come across and wanted to share with you. Some have more creativity injected them to others but I do think there's a wall art project that can be done by any one - no matter your 'art' level!Why not try one of these projects for your living room, bedroom or kids bedroom, or a guest room! Customise your colours and materials - and voila - you have an original décor wall art piece!eave me a comment or email me you project and how it turned out - I would love to hear from you. Enjoy,

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Jen Bishop is a British magazine publisher and editor living in Sydney, who dreams of being an interior stylist. This blog, voted one of 20 to watch in 2012 by Problogger, contains interviews with the top stylists and designers from Australia and across the globe.

All images & text for Verandah Home & Garden Living Solutions, and for Sarah Verity 2008, 2009.Please consider all world wide bloggers when using images and text be sure to quote your source and blog link so that all ideas & inspiration can be shared fairly.Thank you for Visiting - Enjoy & Be Palatial where ever you are!